A Gripping Tale of TV and Brexit and The End of Fireworks and Breaking Legs

You are not going to believe this. I finally got around to loading up the photos from our recent foray into the Golden State. Today, we'll start with some photos of the house itself. Here is the lovely house of our niece and her husband. Thanks to both of them for hosting everything during our trip for their son's graduation. I don't really want a second story because of the cooling expense, but I like the photos posted along the staircase. It does make for dramatic shots, though.

Here is their den. It is empty here, mostly because everyone else was crowded into the kitchen eating.

Did you notice that TV over the fireplace? It is a really nice Samsung. Does that mean they watch a lot of TV? I cannot be sure. Do you watch much TV? Maybe too much? What if you could get through it 60% faster. One man makes that case, and the article even includes example clips from Modern Family and Game of Thrones. Does watching it faster make it OK to keep watching ... somehow?

And their formal dining room, taken over with the trappings of the celebration for a new high school graduate.

Today's devotional is from Mark 7:8, "For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men—the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do." So, the devotional makes the case that both Easter and Christmas are traditions of men and should not be celebrated by Christians. According to the author, blending the lies of this world with the truth of God "produces a foul mixture called syncretism." You can find more on this here. I understand what they are saying, but I am not ready to end this tradition.

In reading about a study to measure grip strength of millennials, and wondering why someone would even decide to do such a study, I also came across an article listing all the possible names as other countries consider leaving the European Union. You already know that Britain is voting on the measure today (Brexit). The article also suggests Outstria for Austria, Beljump for Belgium, Noatia for Croatia, Czech-out for Czech Republic, Fraurevoir for France. There are many others. Go 'Czech' them out.

Is Disneyland doing away with its nightly fireworks show? That would be sad. I don't need to see it every night, but I would certainly miss it if they decide to only hold it seasonally.

What if you came across a crashed car while you were out driving? Would you be willing to stop and help? Would it make a difference if kids were still stuck in the car? One man in Sacramento came across this exact scenario and stopped to help. He did get a small cut, but EMTs checked him out when they arrived and gave him water. Oh, and then they billed him $150. Well, you can read the whole story here. Would that dissuade you from helping if you knew you might be charged a fee by first responders?

There are still a couple of Photoshop requests that I have not yet shared. Here's one of them.

I also have at least one more inanimate object that looks like a face. I think this is something computer related since I see a USB port and a headphone plug.

I just came back from getting pulled into a work thing, so my time is just about up for blogging. Let me first share today's Clarity of Vision. This one was inspired be a previous one where I use a common phrase and interpret it more literally. However, it is not uncommon for the girls to perform shows for us up on the hearth. They point a lamp at themselves for a spotlight and turn on their MP3 player and sing along. The singing is accompanied by various dance movements or musical interpretations. Of course, appropriate applause is necessary at the end of each song.

And with that, I need to get my Thundering Thursday underway. No, Thundering doesn't really work, does it? I was trying to use something other than my usual Thrilling Thursday. In any case, let's get 'er done. people.